


Misattributed Dislike

by AdrianaintheSnow



Series: Adriana Snow's Sanders Sides Writing Starter Pack [10]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Accidental Tickling, First chapter is pre AA and second is post, Gen, Past Abuse, Past Non-Consensual Tickling, Post-Episode: Accepting Anxiety, Pre-Episode: Accepting Anxiety, This story is about tickling but not much takes place, Unsympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, injuries mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-24 15:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21720517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdrianaintheSnow/pseuds/AdrianaintheSnow
Summary: Roman figures out a secret about Anxiety. Virgil is not particularly happy about this. (It's all Remus' fault.)
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders
Series: Adriana Snow's Sanders Sides Writing Starter Pack [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907377
Comments: 15
Kudos: 264





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I guess this is the first Sanders Sides fanfiction I'm posting.

“I don’t know why you can’t just listen to me for once!” Roman spat under his breath.

“Why don’t I listen to you?” Anxiety hissed. “Because your ideas are stupid. Why won’t you listen to me?”

“Listen to you?!” his voice raised a bit too much and Roman winced, lowering it again. They’d both silently agreed to have their arguments quietly as of late in fear that Patton would overhear and either try to make them hug it out or, worse, start crying. “You’re just trying to shove Thomas down the path of darkness,” he whispered.

“‘The path of darkness,’ Princey?” Anxiety scoffed. “Stop being so melodramatic.”

“Oh, I’m melodramatic?” Roman asked. “I’m melodramatic?!”

“Yeah, do I need to define the word or something? Use it in a sentence?” Anxiety taunted.

Roman gnashed his teeth. “If anyone is ‘melodramatic’ here, it’s you,” he emphasized the last word by poking him in the stomach. The other side flinched and let out an uncharacteristically high-pitched squeak. Roman paused, the argument vanishing from his mind. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” Anxiety said, but there was an off kilter shake to his voice and a hitch to his breath. “Why would you even care?”

Roman narrowed his eyes. “I don’t like you, Anxiety,” he said, “but I’m not a villain. I don’t want you to be in pain.”

He blinked, seemingly unsure what to say for a moment. “Well, I’m not hurt, so shove off,” he snapped defensively.

“I don’t believe you,” he said. “Are you hiding an injury again?”

“No,” he said too quickly, backing away when Roman reached for him, but he was quickly backed into a wall. “D-don’t touch me.” The stutter just served to make Roman even more suspicious.

Roman skimmed his hand around the area he’d poked with gentle pressure. Anxiety’s face screwed up and he bit his bottom lip, turning his head away. He didn’t make a sound, but that didn’t convince Roman. Anxiety seemed to struggle with something for a few moments.

“Fine, fine, I’m injured or something,” he said, voice chocked. “Just please stop.” Roman withdrew immediately. Did it hurt that much? He’d been trying to be as gentle as possible.

“Let me see,” Roman demanded.

“No, fuck off.”

“Anxiety,” he gritted out and grabbed for the bottom of his hoody and the t-shirt underneath. He was easily able to pull it up despite the other side’s struggles. He was surprised when he saw no obvious signs of injury: no burns or cuts or bruises. He probed the area carefully with one finger.

Anxiety made a high-pitched sound and it was only with years of experience with the worst brother in the universe that Roman was able to dodge the teeth going for his neck.

“What the fuck?!” I’m trying to help you!” He said putting the other side in a head-lock.

“No, you’re not!” He thrashed in Roman’s grip.

Fucking Dark Sides, honestly. “That’s it, we’re getting Logan.”

“I’m not hurt,” he insisted hands coming up and shoving at the arm around his neck.

“Bullshit. You flinch whenever I touch you.”

The groan he gave edged on a whine. “It’s not pain.” When Roman looked down at him, he noticed that while the caked-on foundation concealed any color on his face, his neck and the tips of his ears had gone red. “I’m just,” he slumped. “Ticklish.”

Roman seemed shocked by the admission at first, enough that Virgil was able to wiggle out of his hold, but in a moment, his expression melted into exactly what Virgil feared most. His mouth twisted up into a smirk and his eyes lit with mischief.

“You?” he snickered. “Mr. Angsty Gloom and Doom are ticklish.”

Virgil puffed himself up, trying to look intimidating even though Roman had just proven he could easily overpower him physically. “It’s a fear response, dumbass, of course I’m affected.”

“Doesn’t really fit with your aesthetic though does it?”

“Kinda why I don’t broadcast it.”

“Oh, is that why?” Roman asked. “It has nothing to do with the fact that I could get you to squeak with just a poke?” He wiggled his pointer finger at him, clearly not actually going to do anything. Yet. He was just teasing. Even so, Virgil wanted to shrink away. Instead, he grabbed the finger and squeezed, not enough to hurt, but enough to get his attention.

“You try it,” he said lowly, “or you tell anyone, and I will destroy you.”

Roman’s expression darkened at the threat, all mirth gone. “You couldn’t do that.”

“And why not?” Virgil inquired calmly. “I’ll remind you, you aren’t the only Creativity in the mindscape. A little bit of fear goes a long way toward pushing someone toward more dark imaginings.”

A pause. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Virgil arched an eyebrow. “I certainly would dare,” he claimed. It was a lie, of course. Roman was brash and annoying. He could even be cruel at times, but, so far, that had only ever expressed itself verbally. Remus passed right over verbal barbs and straight into actual barbs: his uses of them no less creative than Roman’s insults. If Virgil had to hang out with an aspect of creativity, Roman was by far the lesser of two evils. Personal experience informed him that if it was Remus in Roman’s place right now, Virgil would not have even gotten a chance to make a threat, let alone have it be impactful. Worse, he was intimately aware that Remus wouldn’t leave it at that. He was never satisfied if it didn’t end in blood. Roman would at least stop once he passed out, probably.

Yet, even if Roman’s treatment of Virgil stooped to the same level as his twin’s, Virgil still wouldn’t even try to do as he claimed. Remus having free rein would hurt Thomas as well as make Patton miserable. They’d probably both cry and Logan would have to try to pick up the pieces. Virgil would never allow that. Not even if Roman reenacted Remus’ April Fools prank of 2012.

But Roman didn’t know that.

“I bet Remus would appreciate it,” Virgil finished with a harsh smirk.

For a moment, Virgil thought he was about to be punched as the other side scowled, his shoulders tensing and his hands curling into fists. Physical pain didn’t come, however.

“Why do you even exist Anxiety?” he sneered. “You know, at least Remus has a point. He’s horrible and cruel, but at least he does something useful. He helps Thomas process evil he sees in the world and lets him not make a fool out of himself when people make dark jokes. But you? All you do is make people miserable. You’re useless.” With that, he turned and stalked away.

Okay. Ouch. Virgil slumped back against the wall. He’d just royally pissed Roman off. He’d probably not get over it for weeks. Patton would surely notice the increased tension and he’d have to dodge the questions in his wide, sad eyes. Logan would try to corner him eventually when he noticed something wrong with Patton, and Virgil would have to avoid needling questions that could allow the logical side to work out anything about what had happened. It would be tense between him and the other sides for a while, but at least it seemed like Roman had forgotten about what led up to the spat. Hopefully, Virgil would never hear (or feel) anything about it ever again.


	2. Chapter 2

They’d all stuck close to Roman after the latest incident with Remus. Patton was, predictably, in his overbearing dad mode, cooking Roman’s favorite foods, piling soft blankets on top of him, and providing soft, comforting touches. He was the most active of the three of them, ducking in and out of the room, trying to provide for any possible needs the creative side might have before he even had them.

Logan himself was, admittedly, hovering in his own way. He sat in the chair next to the couch, half watching Beauty and the Beast and half editing a schedule for next week. Every so often, he’d pause what he was doing to check on Roman’s injuries. They were healing quickly as Roman recovered mentally. Like Logan could heal with focused thought and Patton could heal by embracing feelings, Roman would usually be able to recover from such wounds instantaneously by leaning into his function, but The Duke had provided a mental sucker punch as well that interfered with such things. His pride had taken a figurative hit while his body had taken a literal one. Yet, he was recovering fairly well in both regards. Every time he got a little two exuberant with his movements or tried to get off the couch without permission, Logan would snap at him until he settled back in with a pout.

Virgil, though, was probably the one helping Roman’s progress along the most. He’d been hovering more than Logan and Patton combined. He’d been the one who put on the movie and he wasn’t even hissing ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ every five lines like usual. He’d parked himself extremely close to Roman on the couch and done little more than grumble a few half-hearted protests when Roman had finally rolled his eyes and yanked him closer, so they were cuddling. Sometime since, his arm had ended up wrapped around the prince. Roman was preening under the attention, not fully back to normal, but quickly getting there. He’d be fully restored in no time at this rate.

At the moment, Virgil and Roman were currently engaging in a catharsis bout of complaining about Remus.

“My room smelled like pickles for weeks after that,” Virgil said, screwing up his nose.

“Ugh, he is the actual worse,” Roman complained. His voice was louder and freer than it had been earlier, and Logan felt himself smiling a bit. Patton came back from the kitchen and sat down next to Roman on the opposite side of Virgil. He shot Logan a look, clearly trying not to coo at the sight of the two curled up against each other, especially when Roman absentmindedly ran his fingers through Virgil’s hair. “You know,” Roman said thoughtfully, “I think he was probably the reason I had so much trouble accepting you at first. He was my only exposure to… you know.” Logan saw Virgil flinch a bit, but he didn’t pull away. “I kinda assumed the motives were the same, but I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Virgil said. “I was the same way sort of. He was what I thought of when I thought of Creativity and I made assumptions about you based on him. I just thought of you as a not quite as bad version of him for a long time which was really shitty of me. I’m sorry too.”

“Apology accepted, my emo friend,” Roman said jovially and then paused, thinking for a moment. “You really hate Remus, don’t you?”

Virgil snorted. “Fuck yeah.”

“So, you’d never want him to replace me?” Roman sounded suddenly vulnerable.

“No, of course not,” Virgil was quicker to reassure than he’d normally be, Logan noted, probably due to Roman’s current state. “Even if I didn’t hate him so much.”

“Even if I did something really annoying?” Roman asked, and Logan looked over curiously at the subtle shift in his tone.

Virgil rolled his eyes. “You’re always annoying.” Roman gave a mock gasp and smiled down at him. Virgil’s lips curled up. “So, no,” he confirmed.

“You promise?” Roman’s grin took up his whole face now. “Even if I was really, _really_ annoying.”

“Even if you were really, _really_ annoying,” Virgil promised.

“So, you’re saying,” Roman said slowly, and for some reason he looked suddenly very smug. “Any threat to get rid of me by using your influence to push Thomas towards using only dark creativity and replacing me with Remus was you blowing hot air?”

Virgil was across the room before Logan could blink.

“Don’t even think about it,” he growled. The sudden change in mood almost gave Logan figurative whiplash.

“Or what?” Roman asked, not at all concerned with the venom in the other side’s tone.

“I’ll fucking kill you. Don’t test me.”

“Aw, but you won’t will you? Because we’re friends and you _love_ me,” Roman cooed.

Virgil didn’t even deny it, he just gave an angry hiss.

Roman chuckled. “C’mere,” he requested, stretching out his arms and wiggling his fingers at him.

“In your dreams,” Virgil snapped.

Roman moved as though to get off the couch. “Stay on the couch, Roman,” Logan reminded.

“Yeah, stay on the couch, Roman,” Virgil said looking pleased.

Roman sat back with a pout, but it didn’t last for long. “Okay, I have to stay on the couch,” he agreed, “but do you know who doesn’t? Patton.”

“Don’t you dare,” Roman turned toward Patton and opened his mouth. Virgil was back across the room and next to the couch just as fast as he’d fled it moments before. He slapped his hand over Roman’s mouth. As Logan had anticipated (as it had been a fairly obvious trap) Roman’s arms closed around him like a vice. Virgil spat out curses and fought, but he didn’t get very far, especially since he was obviously trying to avoid exasperating Roman’s injuries.

“Relax, Panic at the Everywhere,” Roman said with an eyeroll. Virgil shook his head from where it had been tucked against Roman’s chest. “I’m not going to do it,” Roman said, and Virgil paused in his struggles. “Not if it makes you that uncomfortable.”

Virgil peeked up at him. “Really?” he asked, his voice quieter than normal.

“Of course not, My Dark Knight.” He ruffled Virgil’s hair.

“I hate you,” Virgil mumbled, finally submitting to the cuddling fully and laying his forehead on the other side’s shoulder. Roman chuckled at him. Virgil puffed out a breath. “Ugh. Fine.”

“Fine?” Roman asked, his eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, you can, just, ugh.” His face had gone beet red.

“You… didn’t seem very comfortable with the idea a few seconds ago.”

“Sure, but, if you were, like, willing to not overdo it and stop if I don’t like it, then it would be fine or whatever.”

“Of course,” Roman said, eyebrows pinched. “No one here would do something that would hurt you in that way.”

“Do what?” Patton finally asked.

Virgil put his hands over his face and groaned.

Roman chuckled. “Want me to say it?” There was a barely discernible nod. Roman lit up a little. “Virgil’s ticklish.”

“That’s what all of this is about?” Logan asked. Patton leaned over to smack him lightly on the arm.

Roman nodded, smiling. “He’s so ticklish that I was able to figure it out on accident by poking him a while back. He threatened me if I said something, but he was bluffing,” he sang.

“That makes sense,” Logan provided rubbing his arm. “It is a fear response. It isn’t surprising that he if affected by such sensations.”

“Makes you wonder how bad he’ll get when someone is actually trying to tickle him.” Virgil attempted to curl up at that. “Which,” Roman said smiling down at him affectionately “we will have to test another day since he seems to already be at his limit.”

The tension that had been coiled up in Virgil’s frame slowly bled out of him. “Yeah, okay.”

Patton reached over to give him an affectionate hair muss and Virgil attempted to bat him away but acquiesced when it turned more to stroking.

When Logan got up to check Roman’s injuries a few moments later, he made a point to give the anxious side a pat on the shoulder. The prince ended up being entirely healed.


End file.
